


embrace you in a flower’s song

by ventusphoenix



Series: seasons of change [2]
Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: (that they keep a secret from everyone), Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Ranmaru is a big softie esp when it comes to his boyfriend Ai, casually using the live shows as otp fodder (again), still listening to Haruhana on loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 05:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15163997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ventusphoenix/pseuds/ventusphoenix
Summary: It had been almost a year since the last live show, but Ranmaru’s soft looks and small displays of affection still made him melt on the spot. He wasn’t used to such tenderness, and he didn’t think he would ever get used to it.Companion piece toi want to give you the sun.





	embrace you in a flower’s song

**Author's Note:**

> I've fallen deep into RanAi hell and now the first fic has birthed a whole series.
> 
> Get ready because you'll be seeing more of me from now on. :)

It’s in the middle of spring, just after the cherry blossoms have begun to fall that Reiji brings them the news. The four of them are seated in the living room of their shared apartment, Ranmaru and Ai on one set of couches facing Camus and Reiji on the other.

“Another live concert?” Camus repeats.

“Yup! Just the four of us!” Reiji exclaims, waving his arms for emphasis. “Exciting, huh?”

Ai fidgets in his seat, something bubbling up inside of him. He turns his gaze towards Ranmaru, who smiles at him. He knows Ai isn’t normally one to become excited, at least not in the way that Reiji outwardly expresses his excitement. He pats Ai’s knee in understanding, keeping his hand there as he speaks up.

“We’ll have to start preparing then,” Ranmaru says, prompting Reiji to clear his throat.

“Ran-Ran’s right! There’s rehearsals to be had, not to mention media appearances once the announcement is made official,” he begins listing off, clapping his hands. “And we have to start thinking about the set list for the concert.”

Ai perks up, immediately looking once more to Ranmaru. He must know what Ai is thinking, smirking as he squeezes his knee. A warm feeling floods his chest, and he blinks before swatting Ranmaru’s hand away. It had been almost a year since the last live show, but Ranmaru’s soft looks and small displays of affection still made him melt on the spot. He wasn’t used to such tenderness, and he didn’t think he would ever get used to it. 

“I want to do our duet again,” Ai says without hesitation. Ranmaru grunts softly, considering the request. Ai peers at him, his head slightly tilted with an almost pleading look. But he knows it wasn’t needed, not when he already knew what Ranmaru’s answer would be.

“I wouldn’t mind. We’ve only performed it live once, so this would be a good chance to do it again.”

“Okay, it’s settled! If Ran-Ran and Ai-Ai are doing their duet, then we’ve gotta do ours too!” Reiji says loudly, sliding up next to Camus and bumping his shoulder. “Right, Myu-chan?”

Camus huffs and crosses his arms, disappointing Reiji with his cold response. Ranmaru and Ai share a small laugh between the two of them, because Reiji doesn’t notice the slight upwards tilt of Camus’ lips while his back is turned.

As the group meeting continues, Ai doesn’t realise that he’s inadvertently shifted closer to Ranmaru’s side. Camus and Reiji either didn’t notice, or had chosen not to say anything about it. It’s not until Ranmaru crosses the remaining distance between them that he realises how close they are. He presses his shoulder against Ai’s, causing him to inhale sharply. Ranmaru is quick to smooth it over with a chaste peck to the top of his head, swift enough that neither of their bandmates take notice but soft enough to silence Ai’s thoughts. He stays like that, leaning against Ai and stopping just short of letting their heads touch.

This time, Ai doesn’t push him away.

* * *

Once the set list is finalised, practice begins shortly after. Aside from the group songs, everyone takes to organising their own rehearsals for individual and duet songs. That’s how Ranmaru and Ai find themselves in Ai’s room, with a video recording of their song at the last live performance playing on Ai’s laptop. But instead of focusing on the screen, Ranmaru is more concerned with peppering small kisses to Ai’s face wherever he can reach. Ai squirms, but doesn’t move from his place against Ranmaru’s chest. He hums softly, practically purring beneath his ministrations.

“Let me guess… we’re not going to practice, are we?” he says, head tilted at Ranmaru.

“Nope,” he grins, tightening his hold on his back.

Ranmaru feels him startle, but Ai quickly relaxes and presses a tentative kiss to his jaw. He’s still new to it all, choosing to be a bit more careful with his touches, but Ranmaru doesn’t mind. Ai’s fingers curl into his hair and he sighs with content, pushing his head into Ai’s palm. He laughs, moving his palm to cup Ranmaru’s cheek.

“So we’re just going to stay like this?” Ai asks, rubbing small circles with his thumb.

“Uh-huh,” Ranmaru replies, turning his head to kiss the inside of Ai’s palm. “Is that okay?”

He half-expects Ai to talk some sense into him, especially because he’s the responsible one of the group who keeps everyone in check. That included making sure schedules were being followed. But as he hums aloud to himself, Ranmaru thinks that maybe some of his influence has rubbed off onto Ai.

“I think it’s more than okay,” he smiles before kissing him long and slow.

* * *

The day of their solo concert arrives, and Ai can’t stop pacing around before it starts. Ranmaru eventually comes up behind him, placing a hand on his lower back. Ai immediately jumps in place before settling into Ranmaru’s touch, allowing himself to be pushed along to wherever he’s leading him. He takes them to a quiet spot backstage, empty aside from the occasional staff member passing through. Ai’s head turns whenever someone new enters, but they’re too busy preparing for the concert to pay them attention right now.

“Not like you to be nervous before a show,” Ranmaru remarks, taking his hand and squeezing it gently.

“It’s just… we’ve never performed on a stage this big, or to an audience of this number before,” Ai sighs, pressing himself into Ranmaru’s chest. He holds his ear to his heart, allowing the steady rhythm to ground him. He breathes in and out slowly, tangling his fingers with Ranmaru’s.

“You’re shaking,” he frowns, looking down at him. “Are you okay?”

Ai had been thinking back to the last show, when the anxiety had almost crippled his ability to perform on stage. If not for Ranmaru being with him at that time, he’s not sure what would have happened. But when he thinks of the crowd and the size of the venue they’re about to perform on, it brings back those feelings of restlessness and the fear that a similar incident will happen again. He briefly considers telling Ranmaru about said fears, but with the concert about to start he doesn’t want to worry him. Instead, he sighs once more and wriggles free from Ranmaru, keeping their fingers linked together.

“Pre-show nerves,” he murmurs, shaking his head and squeezing Ranmaru’s hand. “I’ll be fine once it starts.”

Ranmaru doesn’t seem entirely convinced, but he lifts Ai’s fingers to his lips and plants a small kiss on them before letting go. They return to the main stage, where Reiji and Camus are already lined up and waiting for them. Ai and Ranmaru fall into place, waiting for the curtain to rise to signal the start of the concert.

The opening movie finishes and the stage lights dim, the curtain opening slightly. It’s pitch black, save for the penlights in the audience shining in their respective colours when the first note plays, and Reiji begins to sing. Ranmaru follows up with his line, opening the stage to Ai who sings the next line on cue. Camus is the last to sing his solo part before the four of them sing together.

The stage is immediately flooded in light, becoming blinding to Ai. As the music moves into a more upbeat section of the song, the bass pounds in his ears making it hard to hear Reiji’s opening greeting to the crowd. He quickly follows the rest of QUARTET NIGHT to the middle of the stage, but he suddenly feels warmer in his stage costume, which he attributes to the searing heat from the spotlights.

It becomes clearer as the song continues that the spotlights aren’t the problem though. Ai knows something is wrong when he almost misses a cue, coming in just a fraction slower than what they had practiced in rehearsals. They continue into the second pre-chorus, Ai moving to his spot beside Ranmaru. He flashes him a smile as they sing their part in unison, but it’s quickly replaced by a look of worry. Ai ignores it in favour of focusing on his singing, pressing his back to Ranmaru’s when the song returns to the chorus. He feels Ranmaru flinch, followed by the subtle brush of his free hand against his arm. Ai pulls his arm away to communicate to Ranmaru that he’s fine, and partially to avoid drawing attention to the physical contact on stage.

But as the song draws to the final chorus, Ai is finding it harder to keep up with the rest of QUARTET NIGHT, not to mention the bass is still much too loud in his ears. The first song finally ends, and Ai knows he shouldn’t be feeling this out of breath when the concert has barely started. But he is also a professional, so he forces himself to push through to the next song.

Ranmaru’s eyes keep following him throughout the whole of the next performance; Ai tries to concentrate on the song at hand, but he can already feel his focus wavering under Ranmaru’s soft looks of concern. 

* * *

As soon as Camus’ solo starts and the rest of the group has retreated backstage, Ranmaru immediately whirls around to face Ai. He gets as far as saying Ranmaru’s name when his legs crumple underneath him and he starts to fall.

“Ai!”

Ranmaru rushes forward to catch him before he hits the ground, groaning under his weight. He repositions his hold, supporting one arm against his back. 

“Oi, Ai! Hang in there!”

His face crinkles as his eyelids flutter open, and he blinks up at Ranmaru.

“Ranmaru,” he mumbles weakly, curling into his chest.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” he asks, toning his voice down so it’s more gentle.

Ranmaru smooths some of Ai’s hair back, trailing his fingers down and letting his knuckles linger on his cheek. He frowns, placing the back of his palm to Ai’s forehead.

“You’re burning up,” he hisses, yelling at the nearest staff member to bring him some ice. By this point, Reiji has joined them upon realising that something has happened.

“Ai-Ai, are you alright?” he asks, hovering over him.

“Overheating,” Ai murmurs without opening his eyes. “Too many stimuli, systems can’t keep up.”

Ranmaru curses under his breath, berating himself for not pushing harder when he knew that Ai was worried about something before the show. He looks to Reiji, who is fluttering around the pair in a slight panic.

“Reiji, you should get ready. You’ll be going on stage soon,” Ranmaru says.

“But what about Ai-Ai?”

“We’ll handle it, just focus on your performance.”

Reiji bites his lip, but understands that Ranmaru has made a point. He reluctantly leaves the two to prepare for his solo song, promising to check up on them as soon as he is able. Ranmaru gently shakes Ai awake, the latter wincing in discomfort.

“C’mon, let’s get you settled somewhere more comfortable,” Ranmaru murmurs, helping Ai up.

He carefully guides him to a set of chairs, laying him down on them. A staff member finally returns with ice and a towel, which Ranmaru uses to cushion Ai’s head. He grabs one of the spare chairs and sits by his side, holding his hand. A small grunt escapes from between his clenched lips, Ranmaru feeling useless for not being able to do more to help. He concentrates on trying to make Ai as comfortable as possible, but he still wishes there was more he could do. Ai stirs gently, blinking up at Ranmaru. He looks at their joined hands and makes a small noise, bringing Ranmaru’s palm up and pressing it to his cheek.

“How’re you feelin’?” Ranmaru asks, squeezing his hand.

“Hot,” Ai mumbles, forcing himself to sit up. He wavers a bit, causing Ranmaru to put an arm around his shoulders to steady him.

“Oi, don’t push yourself,” he warns, trying to lay him back down. But Ai is stubborn, pushing back against him and shaking his head.

“We need to get ready to be on stage soon,” he says.

“Don’t be reckless, you need to rest.”

“I’m fine,” Ai says with more force. “I won’t let this stop me from performing.”

Ranmaru knows better than to argue with Ai when he has his mind set on something. He helps him up, arms poised and ready to catch him should he stumble again. Ai blinks, breathing deep to steady himself. He pushes himself into Ranmaru’s chest, keeping the motion brief before he moves away. Ranmaru’s hands flutter over his back and come to rest on his arms.

“Is there anything you can do to put less strain on your systems?” he asks, voice low.

Ai’s gaze shifts towards the side, and he fidgets with his hands. Ranmaru squeezes his elbow, trying to reassure him.

“I could recalibrate them, adjust it to a level where they won’t be as sensitive to all the stimuli,” Ai begins, glancing up at Ranmaru. “But I’ve never done it before… so I don’t know how it will affect my singing, or my dancing.”

Ranmaru can feel him trembling in his hold. He tugs him a little closer, letting his head rest on his shoulder to offer some sort of comfort. Ai sighs deeply, seemingly torn between wanting to move away again but also content to stay like this.

“Do it anyway,” he murmurs.

“Ranmaru…”

“Please, I don’t want you to strain yourself,” he pleads, placing his hand on his back and holding him close.

Ai sucks in a quick breath, but after a while he nods and murmurs his thanks. He closes his eyes against his hold, Ranmaru running a soothing hand along his back. Ai buries himself further into his shoulder, and slowly his shaking stops. He still feels too hot for Ranmaru’s liking, but at least he was on his feet and seemingly functioning okay.

“Do you trust me?” Ranmaru whispers, not breaking his hold.

“Yes,” Ai says back without missing a beat.

Ranmaru pulls away, causing Ai to mourn the loss of his shoulder. But his whining is soon silenced when Ranmaru places a soft kiss to the top of his head.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”

* * *

Ai returns backstage after recalibrating his systems, but is visibly uncomfortable with the loss in sensitivity. He isn’t used to the slight blurriness in his vision, nor the way that sounds come in muffled, as if someone has their hands clamped over his ears. The heat in his skin doesn’t help the feeling either, as he rubs his eyes and takes up his microphone. Ranmaru is pressed against his back, close enough to feel the rise and fall of his shoulders with each breath he takes.

A shiver runs through his body when he hears Reiji entering the final chorus of his solo. The anxiety from before resurfaces, bringing with it a heat that makes his head foggy. Just when he’s about to stumble, he feels Ranmaru’s hand gripping his tightly. Ai shakes his head to clear the dizziness, squeezing Ranmaru’s hand back. Having him as a pillar of support helps to centre his ground, as he leans against him to steady himself. Reiji’s song ends, and the lights dim in preparation for the next act. The stage soon becomes illuminated in a faint glow of deep red and violet, as the introduction to their song plays. Ai begins to move his hand away, but Ranmaru’s grip remains on his. Ai flashes him a brief look, but he only tightens his hold in response.

This isn’t what they had practiced, but he doesn’t get the chance to dwell on it any further when the platform beneath them lurches. They appear on stage to an awaiting crowd, their song playing in the background. With the changes to his system, Ai isn’t feeling as overwhelmed as before, but it still takes him a moment to adjust to the stage.

He feels a tug on his hand, and sees Ranmaru with his arm outstretched, their hands still joined. He’s pulling Ai’s focus away from the sights and sounds and back to him. Ai complies easily, closing the distance between them. But before he can reach him, Ranmaru lets go of his hand and drifts away, bringing the microphone to his lips as he begins to sing. The warmth in his voice isn’t new, but it still makes Ai shiver. He closes his eyes to the warm timbre of Ranmaru’s voice, using it to centre himself.

Ai begins to sing, his soft notes acting as contrast to Ranmaru’s voice. Some of the earlier anxiety still lingers, coiling in his stomach. Despite his best efforts not to linger on them, his concentration lapses for a second, causing him to run out of breath on a held note. Panic overtakes him and he curls in on himself, clenching his eyes shut.

Something soft brushes his arm, latching onto his wrist. Ai opens his eyes to Ranmaru at his side, locking his gaze with him as he sings. He gently unfurls Ai’s arms from around himself, pulling him across the stage. All the while, his eyes never leave him. Embarrassed, Ai tries to divert his gaze, but Ranmaru only reaches out his fingers and brushes them against his jaw. The caress causes Ai to turn his head back to Ranmaru, whose fingers brush under his chin before continuing into the performance. The transition is so subtle, and so smooth that only Ai could pick it up, with the many times they had practiced their song before the live.

He sucks in a quick breath, singing in unison with Ranmaru as their voices overlap into a harmony. Ranmaru’s soft touches continue throughout the song, some more subtle than others. Sometimes when Ai thinks he’s drifted away, a palm to his back reminds him that he’s still there. When he loses sight of him, he follows the deep bass of his voice until the brush of his fingers reassures him that he’s never far away.

The performance isn’t going at all how they practiced it, but eventually Ai gives in and allows himself to be pulled into Ranmaru’s gravity. Slowly, he starts to reciprocate the touches. The next time Ranmaru offers his hand, Ai takes it, deciding to follow his lead. His fingers curl, not wanting Ranmaru to let go. The latter flashes him a smile, and Ai is able to sing with more confidence, feeling a weight lifted from his chest.

They dance around each other, their voices as one creating a harmony that could only be produced by them. Ai becomes so lost in the performance that he hardly realises they’re nearing the end of the song. They reach the final instrumental, moving through the last part of their dance with practiced synchronicity. This time, Ranmaru is the one to reach out towards Ai, who extends his hand without a second thought. Their palms touch in a mirror of their last performance, but Ranmaru goes the extra length and closes the distance between them, pressing his forehead to his.

This definitely isn’t what they practiced, Ai thinks to himself. But eventually he gives in, surrendering himself to Ranmaru’s embrace. He holds himself still, even though it’s tempting to lean in and cross the remaining distance to steal a kiss. He closes his eyes to Ranmaru’s soft breaths and slides his fingers in-between his, not wanting to let go yet.

* * *

The following morning, Ai and Ranmaru are up before Reiji and Camus, wanting a moment to themselves. The weeks leading up to the concert meant a lot of time spent with QUARTET NIGHT and not as much time with each other. While Ai doesn’t regret their group time, he enjoys being able to have Ranmaru to himself in this moment.

He hovers close to him as he makes breakfast, taking in the smell of freshly cooked eggs. Ranmaru takes his eyes away from the food for a brief moment to steal a glance at Ai, who can’t stop his smile from forming when he glances up at him. Ranmaru grins and leans over to steal a kiss, chuckling when he feels Ai jump in place. Ai leans into the kiss eagerly, whining when they part too quickly. He makes a face, but that only serves to make Ranmaru laugh even more. Pouting, he presses himself to Ranmaru’s side and wraps his arms around his waist, leaning his head on his shoulder. Ranmaru hums and does the same, wrapping an arm around his waist while continuing to cook with his free hand.

Ai is just getting comfortable in Ranmaru’s embrace when he raises his head, twisting in the direction of the corridor. Ranmaru sighs, placing a light kiss to Ai’s head before he untangles his arm. Ai whines again, not ready to part just yet. But at the sound of shuffling and a door opening, he reluctantly drifts away from Ranmaru and heaves himself up onto the bench top, swinging his legs.

“Ran-Ran! Ai-Ai!” Reiji yells from the corridor.

Ranmaru rolls his eyes, prompting Ai to giggle as Reiji bursts into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Reiji,” Ai says politely. “Did you sleep well?”

“Slept like a log!” he announces proudly, but he suddenly shakes his head and glares at the two of them. “Hold on, you’re not avoiding me!”

“The hell you goin’ on about?” Ranmaru grunts, sliding his omelette off the frypan and onto a plate.

“This!” Reiji whines, slamming his phone down.

Ai winces at the sound and blinks, accepting the phone from Reiji when he slides it along the bench top. It was a news article on last night’s concert, Ai scrolling through the various photos between paragraphs of text. When he gets to the end, he comes to understand what has Reiji so worked up. It’s a picture of Ranmaru and Ai from the end of their performance, their hands linked and foreheads touching. Ai freezes up, warmth flooding into his cheeks as he recalls the memory. Ranmaru’s hand comes to rest on his, ensuring that he doesn’t drop the phone in shock. He leans around Ai to get a better look at the screen, huffing in response.

“And?” Ranmaru replies gruffly, feigning cluelessness as he returns to the stove top.

“Don’t ‘and’ me!” Reiji wails, throwing himself onto one of the nearby couches. “What happened out there?”

Ai looks to Ranmaru, who has a mischievous edge to his smirk that he can’t quite place. He begins to think for a moment that he’s about to come clean about the truth, but instead he shrugs, casually taking off his apron and bringing his plate over to the bench top .

“I was checking his temperature,” he says evenly, taking a bite of his omelette.

Ai blinks at Ranmaru, and his lips curve into an ‘o’ shape. He hides a knowing smile behind his hand, sliding off the bench top. He walks over to the couch, throwing Reiji’s phone onto his lap. He sits up and stares at Ai, waiting to hear what he has to say about the matter.

“Skin-to-skin contact  _is_  one of the most effective ways of testing a person’s temperature without a thermometer,” Ai says, following Ranmaru’s lead. Before he realises it, he’s found himself drawn back to Ranmaru’s side as he leans against the bench top, peering at his omelette.

“Was it really necessary though?” Reiji cries, falling backwards onto the couch.

Ranmaru notices Ai staring at his omelette, glancing over at Reiji whose focus seems to be on the ceiling rather than them. He folds his arms across his chest, fork outstretched towards Ai with a piece of omelette on the end.

“It would have been a problem had I collapsed on stage,” AI points out, swiftly leaning in to accept the offering without Reiji noticing. He hums his thanks around the bite, Ranmaru winking as he continues on as if nothing has happened.

“There’s also something called ‘fanservice’, crowd goes wild for it,” Ranmaru adds in, and Reiji groans realising he’s outnumbered.

Ai shifts towards Ranmaru, extending his hand in invitation. It doesn’t take Ranmaru long to accept, as he squeezes Ai’s hand behind the bench top. They share another knowing look, smiling to themselves while Reiji goes to wake up Camus and demand his two cents on the matter.

There would come a time when they were ready to reveal the truth to Reiji and Camus.

But for now, it would remain their little secret.

**Author's Note:**

> Please give me Haruhana for Karunai live 2018 this is all I ask
> 
> (also BE PROUD because wow that song is just gorgeous)


End file.
